JК
The Lovers :: Фармер Филип Хосе
Страница: 51 из 127Each scientist has a deep vertical knowledge of his own little area but not much horizontal knowledge. The more he knows about his own subject, the less aware he is of what others in allied subjects are doing. He just does not have the time to read even a fraction of the overwhelming mass of articles. It is so bad that of two doctors who specialize in nose dysfunctions, one will treat the left nostril and the other will treat the right.'
Fobo threw up his hands in horror.
'But science would come to a standstill! Surely you exaggerate!'
'About doctors, yes,' said Hal, managing to grin a little. 'But I do not exaggerate much. And it is true that science is not advancing in geometric progression as it once did. There is a lack of time for the scientist and too little communication. He cannot be aided in his own research by a discovery in another field because he just will not hear of it.'
Hal saw a head stick out from the base of the statue and then withdraw. He began to sweat.
Fobo questioned Hal about the religion of the Forerunner. Hal was as taciturn as possible and completely ignored some questions, though he felt embarrassed by doing so. The wog was nothing if not logical, and logic was a light that Hal had never turned upon what he had been taught by the Urielites.
Finally, he said, 'All I can say to you is that it is absolutely true that most men can travel subjectively in time but that the Forerunner, his evil disciple, the Backrunner, and the Backrunner's wife are the only people who can travel objectively in time. I know it is true because the Forerunner predicted what would happen in the future, and his every prediction was fulfilled. And–'
'Every prediction?'
'Well, all but one. But that turned out to be an unreal forecast, a pseudofuture somehow inserted by the Backrunner into The Western Talmud.'
'How do you know those predictions which haven't been fulfilled aren't also false insertions?'
'Well... we don't. The only way to tell is to wait until the time for them to happen arrives. Then...'
Fobo smiled and said, 'Then you know that that particular prediction was written and inserted by the Backrunner.'
'Of course. But the Urielites have been working for some years now on a method which they say will prove, by internal evidence, whether the future events are real futures or false. When we left Earth, we expected to hear at any time that an infallible method had been discovered. Now, of course, we won't know until we return to Earth.'
'I feel that this conversation is making you nervous,' said Fobo. 'Perhaps, we can pursue it some other time.
Fobo threw up his hands in horror.
'But science would come to a standstill! Surely you exaggerate!'
'About doctors, yes,' said Hal, managing to grin a little. 'But I do not exaggerate much. And it is true that science is not advancing in geometric progression as it once did. There is a lack of time for the scientist and too little communication. He cannot be aided in his own research by a discovery in another field because he just will not hear of it.'
Hal saw a head stick out from the base of the statue and then withdraw. He began to sweat.
Fobo questioned Hal about the religion of the Forerunner. Hal was as taciturn as possible and completely ignored some questions, though he felt embarrassed by doing so. The wog was nothing if not logical, and logic was a light that Hal had never turned upon what he had been taught by the Urielites.
Finally, he said, 'All I can say to you is that it is absolutely true that most men can travel subjectively in time but that the Forerunner, his evil disciple, the Backrunner, and the Backrunner's wife are the only people who can travel objectively in time. I know it is true because the Forerunner predicted what would happen in the future, and his every prediction was fulfilled. And–'
'Every prediction?'
'Well, all but one. But that turned out to be an unreal forecast, a pseudofuture somehow inserted by the Backrunner into The Western Talmud.'
'How do you know those predictions which haven't been fulfilled aren't also false insertions?'
'Well... we don't. The only way to tell is to wait until the time for them to happen arrives. Then...'
Fobo smiled and said, 'Then you know that that particular prediction was written and inserted by the Backrunner.'
'Of course. But the Urielites have been working for some years now on a method which they say will prove, by internal evidence, whether the future events are real futures or false. When we left Earth, we expected to hear at any time that an infallible method had been discovered. Now, of course, we won't know until we return to Earth.'
'I feel that this conversation is making you nervous,' said Fobo. 'Perhaps, we can pursue it some other time.